Casket

ABSTRACT

A casket made of paperboard comprising a bottom unit including a bottom wall, sidewalls, and end walls; and a top unit, which is slightly larger than the bottom unit so as to telescope over the bottom unit and form a lid, including a top wall, sidewalls and end walls; said bottom unit including a reinforcing liner having a bottom panel and side panels; and means connecting the liner side panels into the sidewalls of the bottom unit to form a part thereof. The sidewalls of the bottom unit include four thicknesses of corrugated paperboard, as follows: a first and second side panel, a liner side panel, and a side flap. These four thicknesses of corrugated paperboard are connected together by a handle having bolts joining a handle base plate to an anchor plate to an anchor plate mounted on the inside sidewall of the bottom unit.

United States Patent lnventor Richard Rittenhouse Rosemont, Pa. Appl. No. 723,454 Filed Apr. 23, 1968 Patented Apr. 13, 1971 Assignee Union Casket Company Wilmington, Del.

CASKET 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 27/4, 229/14 Int. Cl ..A6lg 17/00, 365d 5/40 Field of Search 27/47,

19, 35, 2, 28; 229/14 (BA), 14 (BI), 14 (BL), 14 (BW),43;128/1 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,859,906 11/1958 Guyer 229/43X 7/1886 Grover 27/1 768,481 8/1904 Post 27/2 1,660,019 2/1928 Tazza 27/2 3,220,080 1 1/1965 Connelly 27/2 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner .l. B. Mitchell Attorney-John F. A. Earley ABSTRACT: A casket made of paperboard comprising a bottom unit including a bottom wall, sidewalls, and end walls; and a top unit, which is slightly larger than the bottom unit so as to telescope over the bottom unit and form a lid, including a top wall, sidewalls and end walls; said bottom unit including a reinforcing liner having a bottom panel and side panels; and means connecting the liner side panels into the sidewalls of the bottom unit to form a part thereof. The sidewalls of the bottom unit include four thicknesses of corrugated paperboard, as follows: a first and second side panel, a liner side panel, and a side flap. These four thicknesses of corrugated paperboard are connected together by a handle having bolts joining a handle base plate to an anchor plate to an anchor plate mounted on the inside sidewall of the bottom unit.

Pgtentcd April 13, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 3.

FIG. 2.

m m0 TH N W NT W R D Du A H m R IATTORNEY Patented April 13, 1971 3,574,906

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F107) FIG 6 mvau'roa RICHARD RITTENHOUSE ATTORNEY CASKET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The bodies of many dead people are cremated rather than buried. Conventionally, this involves placing the body in a wood casket for the funeral, and then removing the metal handles and ornamentation from the coffin before placing it in the crematory oven to be burned. The wood is rather slowburning and this operation takes some time.

Caskets made of metal are beautiful and ornamental, but they can also be very expensive. Even caskets made of wood may be too expensive for people who are poor.

Another problem arises when it is desired to ship a body by air because caskets made of metal or wood are heavy.

Also, conventional caskets made of metal or wood take up a considerable amount of space while in storage before use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a casket which is easily and quickly burned, which is attractive in appearance and yet economical in cost, which is light in weight, and which takes up very little space while in storage before use.

The objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a casket made of corrugated paperboard and constructed in such a manner that it rigidly suppons the weight of the dead body. The casket of this invention includes a bottom unit, a top unit which telescopes over the bottom unit to form a lid or cover, and a bottom sidewall structure that utilizes four thicknesses of paperboard to make the casket quite rigid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of this invention, including its simplicity and economy as well as the ease with which it may be adapted to existing equipment, will further become apparent hereinafter and in the drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a view in perspective of a casket constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in plan of a top unit blank;

FIG. 3 is a view in plan of a bottom unit blank;

FIG. 4 is a view in plan of a reinforcing liner blank;

FIG. 5 is a view in section taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 5-5 which appear in FIG. I;

FIG. 6 is a partial view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 6-6 which appear in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a partial view taken as indicated by the lines arrows 7-7 which appear in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to the specific embodiment of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, there is shown a casket 21 having a top unit 23 and a bottom unit 25. Bottom unit 25 includes a bottom wall 27, bottom sidewalls 29 connected to each side of bottom wall 27 and extending upand wardly therefrom, and bottom end walls 31 connected to each 7 end of bottom wall 27 and extending upwardly therefrom and also connected to sidewalls 29.

Top unit 23 includes a top wall or panel 33, top sidewalls 35 connected each side of top wall 33 and extending downwardly therefrom, and top end walls 37 connected to each side of top wall 33 and extending downwardly therefrom and also connected to top sidewalls 35.

Bottom unit 25 also includes a reinforcing liner blank 39 having a liner bottom panel 41 and liner side panels 43 connected to each side of liner bottom panel 41 and extending upwardly therefrom when assembled in the casket 21.

Means are provided for connecting liner side panels 43 into bottom sidewalls 29 to form a part thereof, and 'such connecting means comprising four handles 45 each having a pair of base plates 47 mounted on the outside of bottom sidewalls 29 near the corners of the casket 21. An anchor plate 49 is mounted on the inside of bottom sidewalls 29, and

bolts 51 pass through holes in the base and anchor plates and have nuts 53 that tighten down against anchor plates 49 thus prevent making holes in the paperboard.

Referring to FIG. 3, bottom unit 25 includes a bottom blank 55 having a bottom panel 57, a pair of first side panels 59 connected to the sides of bottom panel 57 along crease lines, a pair of second side panels 61 connected to the first side panels 59 along the crease lines, a pair of end panels 63 connected to the ends of bottom panels 57 along crease lines, a pair of end flaps 65 connected to the ends of the end panels 63 along crease lines, and a pair of side flaps 67 connected to the sides of the end panels 63 along crease lines.

Referring now to FIG. 2, top unit 23 is made from a fiat blank having a top wall or panel 33, first side panels 69 connected to the sides of bottom panel 33 along crease lines, a pair of second side panels 71 connected to first side panels 69 along crease lines, a pair of end panels 73 connected to the ends of bottom panel 33 along crease lines, a pair of end flaps 75 connected to the ends of end panels 73 along crease lines, a pair of side flaps 77 connected to the'sides of end panels 73 along crease lines.

In top unit 23, first side panels 69 and end panels 73 are folded downwardly to form right angles with top panel 33, end flaps 75 are folded upwardly against end panels 73, second side panels 71 are folded upwardly against first side panels 69, and side flaps 77 are positioned between first side panels 69 and second side panels 71. The overlapping flaps and panels are held together by an adhesive, by staples, or by other suitable means.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 5, the bottom sidewalls 29 include first side panel 59 second side panel 61, liner side panel 43, and side flaps 67, with liner side panel 43 and side flaps 67 being positioned between the first and second side panels 59,61.

Bottom unit 25 may also include three belts -79, 81, and 83 which are mounted on the inside of liner bottom panel 41 and are adapted to be positioned under the arms and around the middle and feet of the body for shipping.

Liner blank 39 is provided with a coating of moisture proof material such as shellac, varnish, wax, or liquid cellophane, in order to prevent embalming fluid and the like from soaking into the corrugated paperboard.

In operation, the casket may be shipped to the point of use in knocked-down flat condition and may be easily assembled at the point of use. The casket is quickly burnable in a crematory oven, is made of inexpensive materials and'can be sold inexpensively, is light in weight so as to be particularly adapted for air shipment, and takes up little room in storage when in flat condition.

Bottom blank 55 is preferably made of 350-pound testcorrugated, double wall, while top unit 23 and liner blank 39 are preferably made of 275-pound test-corrugated, single wall.

Straps 79, 81, and 83 may be made of plastic such as AVISTRAP made by Avisun Corp., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or the straps may be made of web cloth or other suitable material. If desired, when shipping casket 21, two straps may be wrapped around the casket to make sure that the lid cannot fall off the bottom unit.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a presently preferred embodiment. Various changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of parts. For example, equivalent elements may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently of the use of other features, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the subjoined claims.

lclaim:

1. A casket made of paperboard comprising a bottom unit (25) including a bottom wall (27), a bottom sidewall (29) connected to each side of the bottom wall (27) and extending upwardly therefrom, and a bottom end wall (31) connected to each end of the bottom wall (27) and extending upwardly therefrom, said bottom unit (25) comprising a one-piece blank having a bottom panel (57), first side panels (59) connected to the sides of the bottom panel (57) along crease lines and extending upwardly from the bottom panel (57), a second side panel (61) connected to each first side panel 59) along a crease line and extending downwardly toward the bottom panel (57), end panels (63) connected to the ends of the bottom panel (57) along crease lines, an end flap (67) connected to each side of end panels (63) along crease lines and positioned between the first (59) and second (61) side panels, and means connecting said side panels (59, 61) and said end flaps (67) tightly together, a top unit (23), said top unit (23) being slightly larger than the bottom unit (25) so as to telescope over the bottom unit (25) and form a lid, said top unit (23) including a top wall (33), a top sidewall (35) connected to each side of the top wall (33) and extending downwardly therefrom and positioned outside said bottom sidewalls (29), a top end wall (37) connected to each end of the top wall (33) and extending downwardly therefrom, said bottom unit (25) including a reinforcing liner blank (39) having a liner bottom panel (41), and a liner side panel (43) connected to each side of liner bottom panel (41), and extending upwardly therefrom, said liner side panels (43) being positioned between the first (59) and second (61) side panels, said reinforcing liner blank including means for lifting the casket comprising a handle having a base plate mounted on the outside of the bottom sidewall, an anchor plate mounted on the inside of the bottom sidewall, and a bolt which passes through said base and anchor plates with a nut that tightens against the anchor plate, the top sidewalls including a first side panel connected to each side of the top wall and extending downwardly therefrom, a second side panel connected to each first side panel and extending upwardly therefrom, a side flap extending from each side of the top end walls and positioned between said first and second side panels, and means connecting said first and second side panels and said flaps tightly together.

2. The casket of claim 1 including three belts mounted on the inside of the bottom wall of the bottom unit and adapted to be positioned under the arms, and around the middle and feet for shipping. 

1. A casket made of paperboard comprising a bottom unit (25) including a bottom wall (27), a bottom sidewall (29) connected to each side of the bottom wall (27) and extending upwardly therefrom, and a bottom end wall (31) connected to each end of the bottom wall (27) and extending upwardly therefrom, said bottom unit (25) comprising a one-piece blank having a bottom panel (57), first side panels (59) connected to the sides of the bottom panel (57) along crease lines and extending upwardly from the bottom panel (57), a second side panel (61) connected to each first side panel (59) along a crease line and extending downwardly toward the bottom panel (57), end panels (63) connected to the ends of the bottom panel (57) along crease lines, an end flap (67) connected to each side of end panels (63) along crease lines and positioned between the first (59) and second (61) side panels, and means connecting said side panels (59, 61) and said end flaps (67) tightly together, a top unit (23), said top unit (23) being slightly larger than the bottom unit (25) so as to telescope over the bottom unit (25) and form a lid, said top unit (23) including a top wall (33), a top sidewall (35) connected to each side of the top wall (33) and extending downwardly therefrom and positioned outside said bottom sidewalls (29), a top end wall (37) connected to each end of the top wall (33) and extending downwardly therefrom, said bottom unit (25) including a reinforcing liner blank (39) having a liner bottom panel (41), and a liner side panel (43) connected to each side of liner bottom panel (41), and extending upwardly therefrom, said liner side panels (43) being positioned between the first (59) and second (61) side panels, said reinforcing liner blank including means for lifting the casket comprising a handle having a base plate mounted on the outside of the bottom sidewall, an anchor plate mounted on the inside of the bottom sidewall, and a bolt which passes through said base and anchor plates with a nut that tightens against the anchor plate, the top sidewalls including a first side panel connected to each side of the top wall and extending downwardly therefrom, a second side panel connected to each first side panel and extending upwardly therefrom, a side flap extending from each side of the top end walls and positioned between said first and second side panels, and means connecting said first and second side panels and said flaps tightly together.
 2. The casket of claim 1 including three belts mounted on the inside of the bottom wall of the bottom unit and adapted to be positioned under the arms, and around the middle and feet for shipping. 